


Crashing the Party

by fictorium



Series: if you think I don't miss you everyday [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Cat Grant Comes Back, F/F, House Party, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23597485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/pseuds/fictorium
Summary: Cat is invited to Kara and Mike's housewarming, when he's supposedly moving in with Kara. For the prompt, "I never stood a chance, did I?"First posted on fictorium's Tumblr
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Cat Grant
Series: if you think I don't miss you everyday [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698529
Comments: 10
Kudos: 182





	Crashing the Party

Cat could ignore the invitation. In an average week she turns down at least twenty, from brunches to club openings, and doesn’t feel bad about any of them. She makes a point of showing up for her designated charities, for anything Carter asks of her, and the occasional time Adam requests her presence. 

But the housewarming of her former assistant? That shouldn’t even be on Cat’s radar, but she’s between assistants and Kara is one of the few contacts whose missives have been marked as enough of a priority to always break through the noise. It’s been glaring at Cat for what feels like a month, although in reality there’s been only a socially-acceptable week between invite and event. 

The worst part is that Kara isn’t even moving house. She’s still in that converted-whatever downtown that Cat had valued and safety-assessed by her own realtor just to be sure that Kara’s living situation didn’t pose a risk to Cat’s security. Which was a ridiculous pretext, rendered even less necessary by the revelation that Kara is Supergirl. Which, if anything, makes her home more regularly invaded but inherently well-defended. 

No, apparently someone is moving in. Someone called Mike, of all the generic things. Cat has dated a Mike or two in her time and always found them to be lacking, even though it wasn’t technically the name at fault. He’s being welcomed into Kara’s home and her life, presumably a first step on the way to engagement, marriage, and whatever babies might be possible between the anatomy of a Kryptonian and whatever this ‘Mike’ is. Cat finds herself hoping he might be a cardboard cut-out, knowing Kara he’ll have the personality of one while she makes up for his considerable faults. 

So. Absolutely no reason for Cat to attend. To even acknowledge. And yet she clicks the stupid button and confirms her very stupid attendance, because really, what will it cost her after all these months to show up with a nice bottle of something and leave after fifteen minutes? Miranda taught her that trick back in Gotham. 

It’s exactly what she expects, from the moment Cat first steps out of her town car and surveys the apartment building door, propped open with a crate of empty bottles, presumably so no one is responsible for letting visitors up one by one. The music–cheesy and poptastic and full of those infuriating summer beats that get wedged in Cat’s head no matter how much she tries to avoid it–wafts down the stairs to meet her. 

She could be at a launch event hosted by Bruno Mars right now. Or at dinner with Hillary and Huma. Instead Cat is picking her way up a staircase populated by people she’s fairly sure she’s still technically employing, some of whom scatter in habitual fear. At least that never gets old. 

Then she’s at the apartment door, wide open of course, and the space is similarly populated with people Cat vaguely recognizes, including someone her brain has filed away as some kind of federal agent, talking to that Will boy who used to be in her IT department. 

Before Cat can think better of it, suddenly the crowd seems to part and Kara is there, completely with a brand new beaming smile the moment she sets eyes on Cat, right in the middle of her living room. Amongst the fairy lights and the way everyone else in that room fades into the background in an instant, Cat begins to wonder if Richard Curtis is now directing inside her head. 

“You came!” Kara glides over a little too fast to be human, enveloping Cat in the kind of hug she wants to collapse into. Just like every other one they’ve shared. “I thought you must have clicked yes by accident, or your new assistant did, but I hoped you really would come.”

“Do you hang on to all your guests this long?” Cat says, regretting it the second Kara pulls back. 

“Sorry, it’s just been a while since I saw you.”

“I’m aware. Your apartment is… interesting.”

Kara just smiles even more at the half-compliment. “I’ll get you a drink. Don’t worry, I kept a bottle of something decent and a clean glass set aside for you.”

The relief at not being offered punch in a solo cup passes through Cat like a tidal wave, and she accepts the tumbler with at least a triple-shot of Scotch gratefully. The first sip fortifies her. 

“I know this isn’t really the best place to talk,” Cat says as something by Justin Timberlake takes over the speakers. “But I wanted to bring you something. For the housewarming.”

“Well, it’s not really for me. You see–”

“Still,” Cat interrupts. “It’s a milestone for anyone. I wanted you to have something more permanent than wine or some awful condiment set that you’ll only open during a power cut.”

She fishes out the small gift bag from inside her purse and hands it over. Kara scans the crowd. “Do we need to open it together, or can I…?”

“Really it’s just for you,” Cat says, downing the rest of her drink. It’s a decent single malt, and she shouldn’t have rushed it. “You can open it later.”

“No, wait,” Kara replies, and with a boldness borne of not being under Cat’s thumb every day, she actually takes Cat by the forearm and steers her through the space, past some curtains which mark off the bedroom area. It’s even more of a twinkling-light, pastels and faded woodwork paradise, but it’s so utterly Kara that Cat aches to see it. Without thinking, she strides across and sits on the end of the bed.

“Go on then.” Cat hasn’t even taken her coat off yet, though it’s a light one. She watches out of the corner of her eye as Kara unpacks the box inside the bag, pulling out the silver ornament with a gasp. 

“How…” Kara moves into Cat’s sightline, refusing to be ignored or deflected. “Do you know what this is?”

“I did some research. Got a message to another person from… where you’re from.”

“But the only way you could do that is through… James wouldn’t. Ms Grant, did you ask Lois Lane for help?”

“I might have used her to relay a message to Superman, yes. He sent me a drawing, I sent it to the designer, it was nothing. Really.”

“Lois will never let you forget you needed a favor,” Kara replies, holding up the delicate silver ornament on its white ceramic base. “And I should be denying any knowledge of this shape, of these branches.”

“It’s a ring tree, Kara. Somewhere to keep your jewelry together now that someone is invading your space. It used to drive me crazy when things were knocked off my nightstand, or moved from beside the sink and… anyway. A practical thing.”

“In the shape of the last ever tree to grow on Krypton. The ones my family takes its name from. Oh! Look, the crest. Etched right into the base.”

“Sounds like a really thoughtful gift,” says a male voice from somewhere behind Cat. She turns to see a generically handsome male, human at first glance. “Kind of thing someone who really cares about you would get.”

“Mo–Mike!” Kara rushes to him, setting the tree carefully on her nightstand. “I was looking for you! This is Cat Grant, she’s–”

“I know, I worked at CatCo for a hot minute there. Her face is kind of everywhere in that building.” Mike comes around the bed to shake her hand, his look appraising. Cat merely stares him down, refusing the handshake. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Cat. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Most of it terrible I assume.”

“Oh, you’d think. Everyone else has horror stories, but not Kara here. No, to hear my girlfriend talk, you’re the sun, the moon, and the stars all rolled into one.”

Cat glances at Kara, who’s blushing furiously. 

“That doesn’t sound like most of my former assistants,” Cat says.

“And I thought, all the times she talked about you that way, that it’s just some one-sided admiration fest, you know? Girls always have these crushes, and I’m the first guy to encourage that, you know?” His leer is as predictable as it is unwelcome.

“Mike, don’t.”

“Then you show up here and the two of you look at each other like something out of one of those movies Kara loves. Like time has stopped, for everyone but just the two of you. Then you sneak in here for special private drinks, and it turns out there’s a real thoughtful gift too. The kind of thing a real thoughtful girlfriend might choose.”

Kara tries to pull him aside then, but Mike never takes his eyes off Cat.

“I never stood a chance, did I?”

A better woman than Cat might not answer. But one look at Kara’s panic, at the darkness that flits across her face because she thinks she’s going to lose Cat all over again, and the decision is made for her.

“No Malcolm, I don’t suppose you did. Oh, I could tell you I’ve been oblivious to Kara’s little crush this whole time, but as you so shrewdly observed, those feelings are reciprocated. I left to give Kara a chance to get over me, to prevent either of us embarking on what could be a very tricky relationship for both of us. And yet. Here I am.”

“Cat?” Kara comes to her then, wonder on her face. “What are you doing?”

“Reclaiming what I believe is rightfully mine. I mean, honestly, Kara. I give you more than enough leeway to pursue things with James, an almost worthy contestant, and you end up with this punk instead? I’m almost insulted.”

“But… but…”

“Oh for God’s sake, how much plainer can I make it?” Cat gets up then, shrugging off her coat before pulling Kara close. As fluid motions go, that was Simone Biles-worthy. No time to dwell on the grace though, because there’s the small matter of kissing Kara right on her stunned mouth, provoking a groan of defeat from the manchild. 

Kara kisses back. That’s enough for the moment. Cat hits pause and pulls back, having made her point there’s no need to be cruel. 

“Kara, why don’t you tell Mike there’s been a change of plan? And that I’m sure I can find a studio apartment somewhere for him to set up home. By way of consolation, of course.”

“Shove your apartment,” he replies, yanking the curtain aside to rejoin the throng of people outside. Some of whom have clearly been listening, since the music is noticeably quieter than before. A dark-haired woman darts to Kara’s side, and they have a brief, whispered conversation before she turns to address Kara’s party for her. 

“Okay everybody, party’s over! Let’s move.”

When the crowd don’t react, the woman pulls an FBI badge from her pocket and a gun from its holster, pointing at the ceiling. 

“Federal agent, moving you all out. Get going, people!”

“Thanks, Alex,” Kara says as people start rushing out. “I don’t know how much you heard but–”

“Enough to warn this one that the badge and the gun will be after her, if she ever hurts you.”

“Agent Danvers, I presume?” Cat stands her ground. “I treat my dates much better than my assistants, don’t worry about that.”

“Oh come on!” Mike protests by throwing his hands up. “She still doesn’t like me, and you get a one-line shovel talk? I really do give up.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara says. “For what it’s worth, we did have some fun. After you stopped treating me like a piece of meat and pursuing me in some kind of game after I warned you not to.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Kara repeats back to him. “You sure you’ll find somewhere to stay? This was a bad idea.”

“I’m fine.” Mike heads out, and Alex follows with a mouthed ‘call me’ to her sister, leaving Cat and Kara alone in the apartment, strewn with party debris on every surface. 

“Do you want to go somewhere?” Kara asks, reaching for Cat’s hand. 

“Why don’t I help you tidy up?” Cat says, and goddamn if she hasn’t lost her mind completely. She hasn’t completed a simple domestic task since the late 90s. 

“Uh, no need,” Kara replies, disappearing in a quiet whirlwind that has the apartment spotless three blinks later. 

“Oh. That’s impressive.”

“I hoped you’d think so.”

“Well, nothing left to do now…” Cat says, looking around. “But make out on that freshly-cleared couch.”

Kara laughs, open-hearted and light, taking Cat by the hand to do exactly that. 

“You kind of ruined my party, Ms Grant. And broke up my relationship.”

“Are you complaining?”

Kara shakes her head. 

“Well then. Shush, and let me make it up to you,” Cat says, situating herself on Kara’s lap and appreciating the flex of muscular thighs beneath her. “The night is still young, after all.”

This time Kara kisses her first, and Cat is more than happy to accept that invitation, too.


End file.
